Psychologist Reviews Michael Bever's IQ In Murder Trial

The same jury that convicted Micheal Bever of five murders must now decide if he should ever get a chance at parole.        

They've already sentenced him to 28 years for assault and battery on another sibling.

5/10/2018 Related Story: Jury Recommends 28 Years For Michael Bever In Assault And Battery Count

Michael Bever’s attorneys called a forensic psychologist to the stand Friday to talk about an IQ test she did of him.

She said his overall IQ is 83 and that normal is 85-115. Under 70 would be considered mental retardation. 

She said Michael exhibited strong verbal skills, but she said his reasoning and how fast he thinks were not so good. 

She said that level of “mental deficiency” could be due to childhood trauma or abuse, something he was born with, or even an undiagnosed brain infection as a child. 

The psychologist said she was not there to say whether he could be rehabilitated one day after potentially being released from prison, just to talk about his deficiencies with his IQ. 

Special Coverage: Bever Family Murders

She said she believed a person with IQ deficiencies like that could, in a highly stressful situation, be likely to freeze up. 

However, prosecutors got up and pointed out that in a highly stressful situation, like murdering your family members, Michael didn’t freeze up, that he is the one who lured his sister out of the bedroom so that his brother could slit her throat, that he was the one who set off the family alarm system, that he came up with a new escape plan on the fly, and that he was the one who tricked his brothers and sisters into opening the doors so that they could be murdered. 

The prosecution pointed out that he was not the type of person to freeze up in a stressful situation. 

Other witnesses to take the stand were a public defender who said he formed a book club with Michael. He said that they had read some books together. Another was a school teacher who goes to the jail and teaches, and she talked about Michael’s love of reading as well. 

Closing arguments have wrapped up and the jury is now deliberating between a life sentence or life without parole.